About

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There is an audible pause in our analog lives; a preverbal squelch on the digital line that defines the very privacy everyone expects, but is rarely guaranteed.

That audible pause, that digital squelch carries with it a subtle promise that someone is reading, or listening, or cataloging and (ab)using every footprint we each press into the digital landscape. No one can guarantee that a third-party is or is not eavesdropping on a series of communications, but Dark Mail can guarantee that when a third-party does gain access, or demands access, the privacy users rightfully deserve is maintained without fail.

The Summer of Snowden may have taken the Lavabit email service offline, but the lifeblood of the service is still alive and relevant to Dark Mail. The goal is to perfect and release its source code as a free and open-source software (F/OSS) project. The "magma" daemon supports access via SMTP, POP3, IMAP4 and HTTP. Magma can be clustered and transparently encrypts user data before storing it on disk. It includes a Javascript webmail system that uses a JSON-based API to provide secure mail access via the web.

Along with preserving existing functionality, the team will build in support for the Dark Mail protocol. Dark Mail, a newly developed messaging protocol, is designed to provide end-to-end encryption of both the message itself and the email in transit. Because encryption will be integrated into the protocol itself, it will be invisible to the user. Dark Mail users will get the security of PGP without the cognitive burden; if someone can use email today they will be able to use Dark Mail tomorrow.

The project will also include building, and releasing as F/OSS, the first Dark Mail compatible clients. We are planning to launch with clients for the desktop (Win, Mac, Lin), smartphones and tablets (iOS, Android).

Provide the funding and you'll get access to the source code and binaries before the general public. Be one of the first service providers to support the new Dark Mail protocol!

Risks and challenges

The challenge will be finding talented programmers to work on and support the project. The more funds we have available, the easier it will be to attract top tier talent!

Lavabit is planning to hire programmers with f/oss development experience and who've worked with C, Javascript, HTML, SQL and JSON.